What are your specials???

[lynweber]

I'm curious about what people do for specials like for babies, and seniors, do you have a grow up plan for babies? If you wouldn't mind to share in what you have or have had in the past I think it will inspire a lot of us.

For me I have a friend who is a photographer and she just started the Senior Ambassador program, I don't think I'll go as elaborate as her but was thinking of offering 1-2 senior specials free session fee they pay for prints from the local schools and giving them rep cards to hand out to their friends and offering some type of a referral thing. I also read a lot of others doing this type of thing on here. I am curious though is a rep card just a business card with their photo on it and your info on the back or is it something more elaborate. Post an example if you have one please. Thanks!

[OsmosisStudios]

Im gonna be totally honest: Ive never heard of Senior portraits until I started here on DPS. It must be an american thing.

[mandyatm]

Oh senior portraits are definitely a big thing here. Pretty much every senior does them, even if it is just through the school. So far I have only done one senior (my neighbor's daughter), but I have thought if getting in that market. I just much prefer the kids and babies, so I haven't done any promotions for seniors. There is a photographer in the area that does the senior reps. She even has them wear t-shirts to the school to advertise for her.

For babies, the only plan I have right now is a combined maternity/newborn package. Those are usually done fairly close together, so they get a discount on the session fees if they book both at the same time. I haven't done a grow-up plan, it just seems like so much to pay up front. Maybe if there is interest in the future.

[lynweber]

Yeah it is pretty big here in the US. It's a huge mile marker kids like to have fun with it instead of doing the traditional yearbook photos.

[lonni]

We have a similar refferal system for our printed products adn we work it both ways.

1 - we hand out a bunch of Referral cards, with our details on them and a space for the customer to write who reffered them, the cards also say that they get 5% off their order. We keep track of how many people each custmer referrs and next time they order from us they get either a % off or upgrade, depending on referalls.

2 - We have some people who work like sales people, although they are not on our staff, we call them reps though. They have their own business cards, like ours but with their phone number and email on it. The customers deal directly with them to make booking and the rep gets a % of the sale to go towards products. This one is great for other graphic designers who dint print, sign writers who cant do what we do, people in a similar field who were passing on the.

From what i understand of your senior portraits the role or your rep would be to get their class mates to use you instead of some one else, so they would have their own card, similar to your own with their own details as well as your own, and i am guessing it works simmilar to the second optiopn i listed above.

We have a big end of year bash up in QLD called schoolies, like your sping break but for the graduating class, and i know that travel agencies had 2 reps in each school, they were given brochures, business cards and sign up forms etc. The money was paid to the company not the rep. You could run it like that, give the rep a schedual, a few weekeds or so to fill and let them organise it.

Have a sliding scale for sales to rewards, eg make 10 ookings get this, 20 and get something else.

Not paying cash, and rewarding with product avoids having to hire the rep, in aus anyway, so you dont have to do super, tax etc.

HTH

[SuperDan]

Originally Posted by lynweber

I'm curious about what people do for specials like for babies, and seniors, do you have a grow up plan for babies?

i have a small promo that I run, i call "as they grow"
its for babies/toddlers.... I offer full price for the first session, half price for second session and 10 greeting cards for them with each session to send out.
with that I also offer to do like a collage or something post that shows the growing stages that I was able to shoot them.


I am thinking of tackling seniors for next year.... as we know they need to be early to catch the right thing, and I am still just working on doing more with families and whatnot right now